The courier, express, and postal industry is the largest segment of the transportation marketplace worldwide. This blog will provide a personal perspective on the challenges faced by firms in the industry as they serve an increasingly competitive market.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

The Postal Service's presentation of its 5-day delivery proposal appears to be on a fast track for presentation to the Postal Regulatory Commission. In announcing the MTAC agenda, the Postal Service has included a 90 minute briefing on 5-day a week delivery on February 17. The Postal Service will repeat this presentation on the web four additional times in February.

Friday, February 19, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Tuesday, February 23, 2:30 - 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, February 24, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Friday, February 26, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.

Mailers interested in attending the webinars on 5-day delivery should send an e-mail to Connie.Totten-Oldham@usps.gov with the date you prefer. She will send an invitation along with instructions for viewing the presentation and joining the conversation.

These presentations could represent the Postal Service's last outreach effort prior to a PRC filing. Given, the scale of this outreach effort, it is possible that the Postal Service management will present a proposed PRC filing to the Board of Governors after this outreach effort is completed. Then the process is out of the Postal Service's hands.

For mailers trying to plan for 5-day delivery, the following schedule seems realistic.

March, 2010 - The USPS files a service change request with the Postal Regulatory Commission.

March 2010 through November 2010 - The PRC conducts the review of the change in service to 5 day a week delivery. (This time frame would be an aggressive schedule for the PRC to meet and it is possible that it could run as long as a year.)

November 2010 - February 2011 - Congress holds hearings on the Postal Service's proposal and the PRC report. These hearings would occur during either a lame duck session of Congress or within the first month of a new Congress and are unlikely to happen until after the PRC completes its analysis of the Postal Service's proposal.

February 2011 - September 2011 - Congress passes a law allowing the Postal Service to offer 5-day a week delivery. It is possible for Congress to act quickly, but eliminating the 6-day delivery requirement may not come outside of a more comprehensive postal reform bill that would take the full first legislative session of the next Congress.

Summer 2011 or January 2012 - Implementation of 5 day a week service. As the Postal Service does not usually implement major operating changes in its first fiscal quarter, the shift to 5-day delivery will begin either before the fall mailing season begins or after the new year. The summer implementation would occur only if Congress acts within the first month or two of the new Congress.

This schedule has some interesting implications for the Postal Stakeholders.

The PRC will review elimination of 6-day delivery during the 2010 midterm elections. The publicity from hearings on the Postal Service could force every Congressional candidate to take a position on 6-day delivery and other issues relating to the Postal Service.

The Postal Service has to manage its business for at least another 15-24 months as a 6-day a week operation. During this period the Postal Service will continue to accrue operating losses that it believes could be avoided by reducing the number of delivery days.

The reduction in delivery days will occur at a time the requirement to coordinate digital communications with mail requires a level of service quality for Standard Mail from the Postal Service higher than what is now offered.

36 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Why not get Congress to return the Billions of dollars it stole from the USPS, give PMG Potter and all employees a Bank of America type bonus. Then, give retirement eligible employees a Detroit type retirement buyout. You want to run the USPS like a private enterprise? Bring it on!

How many people would the Postal Service have to layoff? I would guess about 90,000 or more! Just about every town in the country would lose one person. Small towns would lose 25 or more. These people are the lowest paid. I receive weekly magazines, if I don’t get them on Saturday I would have to wait until Monday and on holidays it would be Tuesday. I would have to cancel them, so would many others? More jobs lost. The postal Service is top heavy, too many high paid managers that can’t manage. They have been cutting service for years, closing post offices and the lines for customers get longer.

What services where is a blue box at? They have shorted the hours of operation to purchase product. They have understaffed all Post Offices. They are not concerned with the customer just that we all pay for big mailers to send their product undermarket value. You can still have saturday delivery for those willing to pay fair market value.

Saturday delivery is one of the Postal Service's primary competitive advantages vs our competitors who don't deliver on Saturday. Here's an analogy to show how little sense it makes to eliminate Saturday delivery in an attempt to save money. Let's say we're a national restaurant chain that's open on Saturday and all other restaurants are closed on Saturday's. We need to save some money. I know! Let's end the single greatest competitive advantage we have over our competition! Let's close on Saturdays just like they do! Ok, end of analogy. How dumb would that be? Very. Returning the $75 billion overcharge would go a long way to solving the Postal Service's problems. Ending Saturday delivery, think medicine for the elderly, is a very bad idea.

I just don't believe most people would care if the PO went to 5 day delivery. But why USPS employees are in favor of it is another story. I think a lot of them don't realize the impact it would have on their jobs. Time will tell. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Make it mandatory retirement with, age or at 35 years service. Eliminate the overpaided, underworked carriers who dont perform for 8 hours of work. Make the pay system the same as rural carriers, see how many carriers get there routes done in 5-7 hours and heading home. Hourly wages at this rate,with overtime after 8 hours and double [a after 10 hours, come on this is ridiculous. The union needs to work with the Postal Service and eliminate some perks they recieve for not performing, 18-8 rule, doesnt matter how long you been on the same route, you get route cut,"HELLO" you should be casing and caring more mail, not getting a route cut.

Five day delivery is dead. At the end of December 2009 President Obama issued an executive order making the USPS responsible for delivering antibiotics to the country in case of biological attack. Delaying by one day antibiotics to perhaps millions of people would be political suicide by any Senator who voted to allow it.

Keep in mind that this is very likely not an either or option when it comes to Saturday delivery. What I am hearing is that there will be no Saturday delivery, but Retail and Processing locations will still be open and running. Saturday delivery will still be an option, but at a premium like FedEx and UPS.USPS already charges extra for Sunday and Holiday delivery of Express Mail, so Saturdays would be an extension of that service. PLUS, PO Box Delivery may still be available for individuals who still want Saturday delivery.(You'll just have to pay for it now)

Regarding overpaid carriers - I have no clue what that individual is talking about...I have been a walking letter carrier 30 years and have earned every penny. To be taken seriously, you might learn to spell or at least proofread your post. I agree with an incentive based early retirement offer for CSRS employees - highest paid employees (both craft and management) buyout would open up new positions at a lower pay scale to both stimulate the economy and save USPS dollars.Five day delivery is a double edged sword - jobs lost versus Saturdays off.

The USPS needs to go to 5 day delivery to survive with the decrease in mail volume and all the watse there is in the USPS.cut pay with management especially potters pay and cut out all the money the USPS wastes in buying houses for management they move to other part of the country instead of waiting and letting the person selling their house and then moving them.The USPS should noy be putting any money into this and they should stop the mystery shopper program immediatet that is a total waste of time and money and 98 of the customers know what they want when they come in to buy or send mail.quit pushing just express and priroty ans push first class and parcel post and show how much cheaper it is to end through the USPS than UPS or FEDEX.

The USPS needs to go to 5 day week delivery with declining mail volume.The USPS will save $2.2 billion per year.6 day a week delivery is a waste of money and time and why dont the USPS just try 5 day a week delivery for at least 2 to 5 years years on a trial basis to see if mail volume picks up and if it dont pick up then keep 5 day a week delivery and close the USPS down for everyone.that would cut the jobs of some like temps.cut the fat at the top and that menas managements jons they create just so they dont have to send them back to craft positions,cut bonusees for management and cut potters pay,stop mystery shoppers program immediately its a aste of time and money when 95 to 98% of the customer know what we have and what they want.dont just push express and priority push first class and parcel post and show how much cheaper it is to send through the USPS than UPS and FEDEX.Keep the USPS from buying houses from their people that they move to orher parts of the country.keep them their until they sell their house or dont move people all over the country keep them in the same area they started unless they bid to a job in another state then let the person who bidded to that sell the house and stay their until it is sold and keep the USPS out of it.

HQ & the Unions already know when the Postal Service goes to 5-day delivery (& it will), they are planning to lay off 100,000 staff (TEs, etc.) -- domino effect. Plants will be closed on Saturdays too. They are now re-aligning IT/TACS functions, etc. to be on board for switch-over. Why do you think are we partnering w/FedEx & UPS? Too many of our top management have outside interests & no past/future with this organization. They don't care that this will cause the end of the USPS.

I love it when employees of the USPS say Saturday is the only advantage we have over other delivery companies. What Advantage?? We are billions in debt for many reasons, yes but Saturday delivery is not anymore important that any other day in terms of our fiscal future. We can still have the window open and specials delivered( express, etc..) and collection runs. But daily operation of carriers who do t deliver on saturday would save billions. And if we are in debt now with saturday, how in the world would anyone think any competitor would want to come in and take on a non profitable situation. Cut your loses to save as many as you can, otherwise we all go down. WHY DOESN'T ANYONE GET THIS. THE PRIVATE SECTOR DOES, SO SHOULD WE.

The 5-day delivery system has more cons than pros. Remember the USPS is run by the "GOVERNMENT" and if anyone has any common sense you know the gov't is horrible at running things - If there is a problem throw money at it.We will just see the same wasteful spending of money where it's not needed, ESPECIALLY the OVERPAID 'higher-ups' that manage the USPS directly or indirectly. It is absolutely ridiculous how much these clowns make. The money should be given the carriers, who actually WORK and literally carry the USPS on their backs. Another reason the USPS is going down the drain is b/c the out of touch, clueless, bonus obsessed upper management who have never carried mail a day in their lives are making policies and rules that hinder instead of help carriers (which would help service, which would help create revenue).If it is a government run system, it is(most likely) bound to fail.

The only way the Postal Service is going to survive is to charge all bulk mailers first class rates. first class for spr's and no more media mail or standard mail letters or packages. Only First class, Priority and express mail. Services such as mail forwarding and mail hold will be a fee.

Who the hell ever says,"I am going to mail this at the Post Office because they still have delivery on Saturday......................"? Nobody gives a crap. Maybe if you are sending an express, but the PO delivers on Sunday now, they would still have Saturday deliver for Next Day mail. If there was sooooo much money to be made by having Saturday delivery, then the other companies would be starting theirs up. But you don't hear UPS making a sound about "lost revenue" by not delivering on Saturday, do you?? All of you big thinkers who say this will "be the end of the Postal Service" need to wake the hell up. Where are the junk mailer going to go if they don't like it? NOWHERE. Is Netflix going anywhere? NO. The ADVO circular? No. 6 day deliver will just become a normal thing, people will get used to it, and life will go on. Did the world come to an end when gas went to 4-5 bucks a gallon??? Folks didn't like it, but they didn't stop driving either..........

You know I sit here and read all these comments and alot of them are for 5 day delivery and want to compare us to UPS or FEDEX. I wonder what the public would say if they knew that those 2 companies can operate at a 1/40 manager to craft ratio and UPS is eliminating more managers, while the USPS is currently at approx. 1/8 and growing in managements favor! I wish there were a camera posted in the office or just at the telephones and computers in the USPS, so people can really see behind the scenes what management does ALL DAY and get paid better than the workers. As for our customers, if you would poll most of the businesses out there that are currently open on sat. you would find that none of them are for 5 day del. Just think of the savings that would come from eliminating all the wasteful non-productive management positions, and refunding the 75 Billion overpayment. We would have made a huge profit. Why do you think the USPS still has their PFP (pay for performance) bonuses. Because they have plenty of money! The only problem is the money is going to the ones who want to destroy our customer service and dont perform to begin with. The USPS has got to be the most mis-managed poorly run company in the world. Contrary to what people believe, its not run by the government. Its run by corrupt corporate "FAT CATS" who think they should be paid as if they do own the place. They just have to answer to the government, and get permission to continue its demise. If Congress could rid the USPS of its fraud, waste, and abuse within management, we would probably still be paying .35 cent postage and not charging premium fees for Sat. express delivery! I mean the carriers are coming to your house on Sat. anyway right, why the additional premium fee? GREED....thats why, but not by your carriers or clerks that you actually deal with everyday!

You have hit the nail on the hesd!!Most if not all stupivisors have NO business background, they are selected and promoted thru the USPS kiss ass program.Take away the computers and phones and they would have to suck their thumbs (or something)all day! I have been a dedicated and trustworthy carrier for 36 years. Sure there are some bad apples in the carrier force but most are good honest and hard working. The waste in management and its ridiculous programs is the problem and will be its downfall. Recently a woman in management was in our office observing carriers to see if we were doing any time wasting practices.There was another higher management person observing her to see if she was observing correctly, but the killer is that there was another higher management person obsereving the second observer to see if she was observing correctly!! TYPICAL PO MANAGEMENT WASTE!! NC carrier

As long as the post office has bosses like the one I have, who is called miss hitler,the post office will always lose money. they are like thugs who use verbal abuse as a means of getting more out of the employees when all they are doing is making them do less

TYPICAL CLOWN MGR skimming his BIG hefty bonus while he bashes and undermines the craft people who really make the the service exist at all! It truly is sad to read your theory from yesterday D-wad! Employees such as yourself need to be taken by the belt loop and thrown out the front door first~! Here's his comments from a earlier post and he only obviously cares about his own good! (Make it mandatory retirement with, age or at 35 years service. Eliminate the overpaided, underworked carriers who dont perform for 8 hours of work. Make the pay system the same as rural carriers, see how many carriers get there routes done in 5-7 hours and heading home. Hourly wages at this rate,with overtime after 8 hours and double [a after 10 hours, come on this is ridiculous. The union needs to work with the Postal Service and eliminate some perks they recieve for not performing, 18-8 rule, doesnt matter how long you been on the same route, you get route cut,"HELLO" you should be casing and caring more mail, not getting a route cut.)

STOP WORRYING ABOUT CRAFT "WORKERS" and worry about how your gonna truly take a stake in saving the SERVICE like the rest of the crew~! STOP comparing craft to craft.........as stated before WE WORK, while you BOZO's try and try again to come up with brainstorms to "monitor" the crew who is actually #1 WORKING HARD, #2 PROVIDING SERVICE (hell, MGRS....try answering a phone and giving REAL person to person SERVICE....the public doesn't want a machine), #3 Holding up our end of the bargain by maintaining your stupid 5pm window (WHICH IS A JOKE!), #4 trying to keep a good attitude and be good/loyal employees........even after reading your BS time and time again, #5 on and on and on...........the beat goes on! BOTTOM LINE> FRAUD AND WASTE = MGRS (lets monitor these people for a few weeks and see what the public thinks then!)

Route cuts,what planet our you from. The dbags running the PO are just dumping more and more on letter carriers. As far as 5 day delivery, I want it bad,only the running T6's don't want it. In fact, most of the running T6's are getting what they deserve.

Lots of comments about losing Saturday delivery. Who said it would be Saturday? I whoeheartedly agree with getting rid of alot of the higher kevel jobs(management). I work in a carrier annex with three city zones. There are 20 or 25 routes in each zone. There are days when we have had as many as 7 supervisors and superviser wannabees standing around with their heads.....you get it. We needs to go back to a service oriented workforce. Our customers are the important ones. Yes,get rid of the under-performing carriers/clerks. There are some employees that do more damage than good. Early out sounds good to me .I only have three years left, but you can bet that I will be doing all I can to help the PO survive so the younger employees have a chance at retirement. To the comment about the union not working with the PO, go to your union meetings, get involved, get correct information. We all need to be signed up for e-activist and we need to support COLCPE. That gives us a voice in Washington.

I am a 36 year veteran city carrier. I believe the Union should join with usps & support the elimination of Sat. delivery. Hopefully with a small cash incentive such as cash payment for sick leave or lump sum for each of service would be enough to motivate enough veteran carrier such as myself to retire to eliminate the need for layoffs.Otherwise everyone continues to hang around waiting for some kind of offer

Um hello! Fed-Ex and UPS don't deliver letter mail so why should they deliver Sat? Too many carriers ARE milking it because they know jack can't be done to them. Retire for crying out loud!So many of you jokers get FMLA and get on the overtime list to make up for it! How come YOU greedy carriers are malingering around? I've carried for 8 years and I look around me and see bozo's with no job skills who couldn't make it anywhere else. Things change , the world changes. I'm not for 5 day delivery, I'm for a manager that will say , "Ya know, that rule is totally counterproductive to getting the mail out in the most efficient /safest way so lets do it in a way thats works for this station". I'm for my fellow carriers (who have gotten lazy and selfish) who see the harsh seasonal weather coming up and actually do their jobs, and not becoming 204B's or milking a BS health issue. You know what, when you are actually broken and can't do the job, move to another position or quit. How do you look in the mirror at the end of the day and think you did a good job? We get paid extremely well, why don't we just freeze pay raises for 3 or 4 years? Oh yeah I forgot the same jokers I was referring to earlier don't know how to manage their money and HAVE to stay past 30 years because they didn't save anything. Sad times we live in. I like my job and I like taking care of my customers. It's the whining spineless individuals that are my "Peers" at Northwest Station and Maryvale Station here in Pheonix AZ, that really are the problem.

I work for the PO and I totally agree with the PO being top heavy. If you are going to cut out jobs, then lets condense the top of the food chain. As far as why USPS employees want 5-day work weeks. We all don't have two days off together, why poor management in the office. The Post Masters are usually older and tired of all the paperwork, so if they can leave things the way they are now and keep workers on their split shift; so be it. If Postmasters would just refigure the work schedule and give their employees either Monday or Saturday off, then most employees would be against the 5-day work week. So please somebody pass this on to somebody who cares.

I have a 20 year military retirement check, have worked for the PO for 9 years. I don't deliver mail to pay my bill's, I do it for the love of working and helping my customers. Why should the Postmaster General care about all the money the PO has lost, him and his flunkies get their 200k bonus weather we make our numbers or not. I dare then to live on our pay and work conditions.

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Blog Author

Alan Robinson is the President of the Direct Communications Group and an associate of Analytic Business Services (AnaBus). He has over twenty years experience helping firms and government officials deal with the regulatory, policy, marketing, and management issues associated with changes in competition within transportation, parcel delivery and postal markets.
He can be reached at alan.robinson@directcomgroup.com